Submitted via IRC for Runaway1956
Chinese metal scientists announced they had developed a plow using a new steel alloy.
Plow was initially used in China over 2,000 years ago, centuries earlier than in Europe. However, Chinese farmers nowadays would rather pay over the odds for imported plows because of their better quality and durability.
The situation may soon change, thanks to the new research.
Yan Desheng, of the Institute of Metal Research under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said the new metal was developed on the basis of boron steel, with micro-alloying elements and fine carbide added, so as to increase its hardness while keeping its high ductility.
The new material had been used to make over 1,000 farming tools, such as moldboard plows and rotary blades.
Source: China.org.cn
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Saturday May 20 2017, @12:47AM (1 child)
They'll be even more effective in enriching the soil if you just ground or cut them, even better if you mix them with mushroom micellia before use.
Charring will bring down the energy stored in chemical bonds - less energy for soil biome to use.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Saturday May 20 2017, @04:26PM
Not really actually, at least not in the long term. Dig in the plant matter and they break down and get reabsorbed very quickly. Dig in charcoal and you enrich the soil for a very long time - centuries to millenia. It's not a matter of energy, or traditional fertilizing. The charcoal doesn't get reabsorbed, it jest sits there, pretty much inert, altering the soil chemistry/ecology for centuries. I don't remember the exact mechanism, or even if it's well understood at all.